Books

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough is one of the best written and best told stories that I’ve read in a long time.  It is the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, a young painter in Rome in the early 1600s.  It is a man’s world and women have little say in their … Read More

The Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker is the first book in the Buttons trilogy. Each book focuses on a different Button family member; the first two take place in 1929 and the third book takes place during the Civil War when granddaddy Ike was just a boy. All three of … Read More

Fire & Blood, by George R R Martin, provides the background history for the Game of Thrones series.  Purportedly, the narrative is the piecing together of the various histories of the Targaryen royal family’s uniting of the seven kingdoms and rule of Westeros, so as to present the most accurate … Read More

According to the author Gail Levine, inspiration to write this book came from her father who was an orphan at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the real life counterpart for the story’s fictional Hebrew Home for Boys.  When Dave Caros’ father dies in an accident, his stepmother places him in the Hebrew … Read More

Walter Dean Myers is known for his creative and unique writing styles when it comes to children’s literature. This book is no exception. It is written as a screenplay complete with directions for the camera shots. While listening to the full cast audiobook with sound effects and music, I felt … Read More

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a pretty amazing book.  It is a story that takes place in a dystonian future and is about Juliette, who has survived alone in prison without seeing another person.  This isn’t a story of someone wrongly accused.  Juliette is in for murder and she believes she … Read More

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater is a young adult paranormal story about Blue, her family, and some boys from a nearby private school.  Everyone in Blue’s family is psychic … except for her. Blue does have a gift, she acts as an amplifier for other psychics.  Blue has had … Read More

The Sea Queen by Linnea Hartsuyker continues the story that began in the Half-Drowned King.  Ragnvald has sworn to King Harald, who wants to unite all of Norway under his rule. The first book focused on Ragnvald’s rise as a warrior, and  his sister Svanhild played a more minor part.  In … Read More